A. Within the Authority shall be created a Division of Incentives that shall be responsible for reviewing, vetting, tracking, and coordinating economic development incentives administered by or through the Authority and for aligning those incentives with economic development incentives offered by other entities in the Commonwealth.
B. No project that includes an offer of economic development incentives by the Commonwealth, including grants or loans from the Commonwealth's Development Opportunity Fund, shall be approved by the Governor until (i) the Division of Incentives has undertaken appropriate due diligence regarding the proposed project and the Secretary of Commerce and Trade has certified that the proposed incentives to be offered are appropriate based on the investment and job creation anticipated to be generated by the project and (ii) when required by § 30-310, the MEI Project Approval Commission has reviewed the proposed incentives.
C. Any contract or memorandum of understanding for the award of economic development incentives by the Commonwealth shall set forth the investment and job creation requirements for the payment of the incentive and shall include a stipulation that the business beneficiary of the incentives shall be liable for the repayment of all or a portion of the incentives to the Commonwealth if the business beneficiary fails to make the required investments or create the required number of jobs. For purposes of this section, an incentive awarded by the Commonwealth shall include an incentive awarded from a fund operated by the Commonwealth, including the Commonwealth's Development Opportunity Fund. If it is determined that a business beneficiary is liable for the repayment of all or a portion of an economic development incentive awarded by the Commonwealth, the Board may refer the matter to the Office of the Attorney General pursuant to § 2.2-518. Prior to the referral to the Office of the Attorney General, the Board shall direct any political subdivision that is a party to the relevant contract or memorandum of understanding to assign its rights to the Commonwealth arising under such contract or memorandum of understanding in which the business beneficiary is liable to repay all or a portion of an economic development incentive awarded by the Commonwealth. In any such matter referred to the Office of the Attorney General, a business beneficiary liable to repay all or a portion of an economic development incentive awarded by the Commonwealth shall also be liable to pay interest, administrative charges, attorney fees, and other applicable fees.
D. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, approval of the Board shall be required to grant an extension for an approved project to meet the investment and job creation requirements set forth in the contract or memorandum of understanding. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, approval of both the Board and the MEI Project Approval Commission shall be required to grant any additional extensions.
E. The Division of Incentives shall provide semiannual updates to the Board of the status and progress of investment and job creation requirements for all projects for which economic development incentives have been awarded, until such time as the investment and job creation requirements are met or the incentives are repaid to the Commonwealth. Updates shall be provided more frequently upon the request of the Board, or if deemed necessary by the Division of Incentives.
F. The Board shall establish a subcommittee, consisting of ex officio members of the Board authorized pursuant to § 60.2-114 and federal law to receive and review employment information received from the Virginia Employment Commission, in order to assist the Division of Incentives with the verification of employment and wage claims of those businesses that have received incentive awards. Such information shall be confidential and shall not be (i) redisclosed to other members of the Board or to the public in accordance with the provisions of subdivision C 2 of § 60.2-114 or (ii) subject to disclosure under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (§ 2.2-3700 et seq.).
G. For purposes of this section, the award of economic development incentives by the Commonwealth shall include an award of funds from the Commonwealth's Development Opportunity Fund, regardless of whether the contract or memorandum of understanding for the disbursement of funds is with the Commonwealth or a political subdivision thereof and the business beneficiary.
2017, cc. 804, 824; 2018, c. 829; 2020, c. 591.